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The SA 341 Gazelle all-purpose lightweight helicopter began as a proposal for a new observation helicopter for the French army. It was re-named the SA 340 soon afterwards. The Gazelle features a fully enclosed fuselage structure and, while it can be flown by a single pilot, has provision for two pilots with side-by-side seating. The SA.340 prototype F-WOFH flew for the first time on 7 April 1967, with an Astazou UN turbine and the same transmission, landing skids, anti-torque rotor and tail plane as the Alouette. Following the first flight, development continued throughout 1967 at Sud-Aviation's factory at Marignane, near Marseille. This first aircraft utilises the tail rotor and skid of the Alouette II and the engine and transmission system of the Alouette II Astazou, but the second prototype (F-ZWRA, first flown on 17 April 1968) was representative of production SA.341's in having the Astazou IIN2 and a 'solid' vertical fin with a circular cut-out in its centre, within which its small 13-blade tail rotor rotates. The main rotor blades, made of laminated glassfibre, are of the type developed by Bolkow of Germany in collaboration with Sud-Aviation. In 1967 while still in the final design stages, Westland joined a production-sharing agreement signed on 22 February 1967 and officially confirmed on 2 April 1968, and performed final assembly of the first British military version in 1970.

The first prototype, designated SA 340.001, was flown on 7 April 1967, and the second on 12 April 1968. The first French Gazelle had a longer cabin than its predecessors, an enlarged tail unit and an uprated Astazou IIIA engine. These were followed by four pre-production SA 341 Gazelles (first flown on 2 August 1968), of which the third was equipped to British Army requirements, assembled in France, and then re-assembled by Westland in the UK as the prototype Gazelle AH.1. It was first flown on 28 April 1970.

The initial Westland-assembled Gazelles followed early in 1972 (first flown on 31 January 1972). Westland Helicopters Ltd of Weston-Super Mare in Somerset delivered 32 Gazelles to the Royal Air Force. Others served with the Army Air Corps and Fleet Air Arm.

On 14 May 1970 the first Aerospatiale-built SA 341 pre-production aircraft, in slightly modified form, established three new speed records for helicopters of its class. Manufacture of the Gazelle began with a civil-registered aircraft on 6 August 1971.

SA-342M

The upgraded SA 342 first flew in 1976.

Two military models are; the SA.342L-1 for export customers, and the similar SA.342M for the French Army. Armament options include four or six HOT anti-tank missiles, a GIAT M621 20mm cannon, and machine-gun or rocket pods.

Armament which can be carried by the military versions includes machine-guns, rockets and reconnaissance flares, plus a variety of missiles, including the anti-tank HOT missile (High-subsonic Optically-guided Tube-launched).

The Gazelle has been built under licence by Egypt and Yugoslavia where the Serbs used Yugoslav-built Gazelles in the Balkan civil war during the 1990s. Soko built the Aerospatiale/Westland Gazelle helicopter under license in several versions, including Partizan, GAMA antiarmor model and HERA reconnaissance model.

SA 341C Gazelle HT.2Fleet Air Arm training versions; Astazou IIIN engine; stability-augmentation system and a hoist incorporated; first flown on 6 July 1972 and first entered service on 10 December 1974 (total 30)

SA 341G GazelleCivil commercial version; Astazou IIIA engine; officially certificated for passenger service on 7 June 1972; subsequently became the first helicopter to obtain US approval for operations under IFR Cat.1 conditions with a single pilot; also developed into a so-called 'Stretched Gazelle', with rear section of the cabin modified to provide additional 20cm legroom for the rear passengers